09-13-2020, 03:52 AM
Opening strategies...
In the beginning of a game of Galac-Tac it is important to develop your economic system by claiming territory (Colonies) and collecting PV (with Shuttles). That much should be pretty obvious. What's not so obvious to beginning players is that the rapid expansion of territory in the very beginning is absolutely crucial to the long-term growth of your empire. If you can expand unopposed, do so as quickly as you can, using your PI and actions as efficiently as possible. Of course, more Shuttles will bring in more PV which will allow you to build more Colonizers and Shuttles, but there will still be limits as to how fast you can expand in this way and setting up Shuttles means that you can explore and claim less early territory.
On the other hand, if you DO run into other empires, or you feel the need to prepare in case you do, then you have additional complications. If the encounter is at one of your own Colonies, and they're aggressive, odds are you'll want to defend it militarily. Unfortunately, that will cost PI, actions, and turns that you would rather spend on expansion. How much is it worth to your economic system (and your apparent intentions) to defend the system with might?
If, on the other hand, the system is as yet unowned (as far as you can tell), your choices are to (1) enforce your claim with weapons, (2) give up and let them have it, or (3) wait around and see what they do. Option (1) has similar costs to those mentioned above, and the other options aren't without cost to your eventual economic system either.
And finally, if the opponent has already Colonized it, you have two major options: you can leave and look elsewhere for territory, or you can try to take it away from them (which will probably start a local war and be very expensive for both of you).
Of course, diplomatic discussions can give you further possible options, or perhaps aggravate your opponent into even more rash behavior.
The more expansion you can do in the early game, the more PI you'll have to work with later on. So making decisions about how much military spending to include during this time and how much risk you're willing to accept during expansion can greatly affect your military might in the mid-game.
In the beginning of a game of Galac-Tac it is important to develop your economic system by claiming territory (Colonies) and collecting PV (with Shuttles). That much should be pretty obvious. What's not so obvious to beginning players is that the rapid expansion of territory in the very beginning is absolutely crucial to the long-term growth of your empire. If you can expand unopposed, do so as quickly as you can, using your PI and actions as efficiently as possible. Of course, more Shuttles will bring in more PV which will allow you to build more Colonizers and Shuttles, but there will still be limits as to how fast you can expand in this way and setting up Shuttles means that you can explore and claim less early territory.
On the other hand, if you DO run into other empires, or you feel the need to prepare in case you do, then you have additional complications. If the encounter is at one of your own Colonies, and they're aggressive, odds are you'll want to defend it militarily. Unfortunately, that will cost PI, actions, and turns that you would rather spend on expansion. How much is it worth to your economic system (and your apparent intentions) to defend the system with might?
If, on the other hand, the system is as yet unowned (as far as you can tell), your choices are to (1) enforce your claim with weapons, (2) give up and let them have it, or (3) wait around and see what they do. Option (1) has similar costs to those mentioned above, and the other options aren't without cost to your eventual economic system either.
And finally, if the opponent has already Colonized it, you have two major options: you can leave and look elsewhere for territory, or you can try to take it away from them (which will probably start a local war and be very expensive for both of you).
Of course, diplomatic discussions can give you further possible options, or perhaps aggravate your opponent into even more rash behavior.
The more expansion you can do in the early game, the more PI you'll have to work with later on. So making decisions about how much military spending to include during this time and how much risk you're willing to accept during expansion can greatly affect your military might in the mid-game.